That alone is not news, we’ve always had “rules” (which again, I violate at will) that dictate how people will connect with you based on their first impression of your profile picture, but what is news is that specifically, influence, competence, and likability can be measured based on how you present yourself online.

To save you some time, I’ll tell you that the key takeaways are that if you want people to think you’re influential, squint your eyes a little bit (like you’re in your happy place, not like you lost your glasses), show your teeth when you smile (but not too much), put on a suit, and don’t jack up the saturation levels on your picture.

In other words, do the opposite of everything I do (I don’t smile, I don’t show my teeth, I’m in a party dress, I’m holding a beer, the photo is ultra saturated, and I look like an earthworm with multiple chins), because I’m being silly in my picture. For me, and for my personality, it works – I have more than one follower, but for a professional like yourself, let’s take a look at the science that will help convince people that you’re not as insane as I am:

Whether you’re looking to instill confidence in consumers and offer a positive first impression, or trying to trick people into thinking you’re influential, the above graphic gives you the playbook. I suspect we’ll see a lot of squinting in profile pictures by the end of the week, what do you think?

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AGBeat Chief Operating Officer: Lani, named 100 Most Influential, as well as 12 Most Influential Women in Blogging, Bashh Founder, Out and about in Austin A Lister, is a business and tech writer and startup consultant hailing from the great state of Texas in the city of Austin. As a digital native, Lani is immersed not only in advanced technologies and new media, but is also a stats nerd often buried in piles of reports. Lani is a proven leader, thoughtful speaker, and vested partner at AGBeat.